Flashpoint Catch Up 4 - Batman Knight of Vengeance 1

Only read this if you have read Flashpoint 1.

So the last pages of Flashpoint revealed who this alternative realities Batman was and here we have him in his own Flashpoint inspired mini.  Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso the writer and artiste respectively have worked together on the landmark 100 Bullets series and so although I’ve not read all of those issues, I’ve read enough to know this should be good.

Here the Batman is a very old grizzled veteran who runs Casinos to control the funding of crime and has Gordon running the “privatised” Gotham City Police force.   The Batman himself is very close to the Batman of Dark Knight returns with Thomas Wayne way past his best days physically and verbally.  I can’t help but think a Bruce Wayne who had got old and lost Gotham is very similar to a Thomas Wayne who lost his family and got old.

The art is fairly cartoonish to look at but not without serious character and if it was a more serious depiction it might have darkened the book more than needed as it harkens back to the anti hero comics of the 90s.  It’s a good solid book that does little to further Flashpoint itself but gives Azzarello a playpen to hopefully have some fun and but some familiar characters in unfamiliar surroundings.  Take Oswald Cobblepots role as Waynes right hand man.
Probably so far the best of the Flashpoint tie ins that I’ve read.